"These neighbors should be concerned. Obviously, when you see a number of vehicles going through a red light, not somebody waiting for a left turn but just neglecting to stop for the red light, it's going to cause public safety issues," Peduto said.

Rush hour backups on the detour route for the outbound Liberty Tunnel closure are doubling and sometimes tripling normal commute times. The extended commute times along the detour route clearly are making some drivers impatient, putting pedestrians and other drivers at risk.

"Certainly that is a concern for us, the safety of the motorists traveling the other direction and just creating an unsafe condition in the intersections," said Dan Cessna, PennDOT district executive.

PennDOT says it can't enforce traffic laws itself, but the mayor says it's part of PennDOT and its contractor's responsibility to request and pay for extra police presence during its construction projects.

"We'll provide the officers. They have to be able to pay them to be able to be there, but starting tonight they'll see the difference," Peduto said.

PennDOT acknowledges its responsibilities here.

"It is PennDOT's decision whether or not we implement the use of off duty officers at intersections. We do know that we have used them in the past on many projects. We continue to monitor this one and will use them when needed," Cessna said.

"We've already been in contact with Chief McDonald and Commander Schubert. PennDOT has been notified that they're going to have to increase the number of officers that will be at the intersections, and starting tonight, the neighbors will see a difference (in enforcement)," Peduto said.

But resident Richard Billings told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that police haven't returned to the intersection since that first day.

"They were out here actually watching the people run the red light, pulled a few people over, but from what I was told, from the moment you guys left, so did the police," Billings said.

PennDOT's posted detour sends thousands of drivers who use the tunnel each day into a residential section of Mount Washington, where people on Merrimac Street are voicing concerns about their road being part of the detour route.

A camera from Pittsburgh's Action News 4 captured video for exactly one hour in the Thursday evening rush. During that time, 12 drivers ran the red light at Merrimac Street and Virginia Avenue. One driver cleared the intersection a full three seconds after the light turned red.

"My grandson was hit a few years ago out here by somebody running a red light," Mount Washington resident Beverly Koerber said. "What's it going to take, somebody to get killed before we on Mount Washington get some relief here?"

While the mayor acknowledges that the daily traffic backups are frustrating, he advises drivers to just relax and take it easy along the detour route.

"You're going to be delayed. The capacity isn't there to get you home quickly, so while you're on your way up Mount Washington, take a view, look at how beautiful the city is and just make sure to take a little extra time to make sure everyone stays safe," Peduto said.

The tunnel detour will remain in effect until 6 a.m. on July 28. Painting crews are working inside the tunnel during the closure.

The Birmingham Bridge is often a less-congested route. Once drivers cross the bridge, they can go right on Carson Street and either cut up over 18th Street to get around the tunnel or continue onto the West End Circle, then make a left toward Route 51.

Wabash Tunnel HOV restrictions are temporarily lifted. The tunnel is open to outbound traffic from 3-11 p.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m.-11 p.m. on weekends, with no occupancy restrictions. Enter at Carson Street near Station Square, and exit onto Woodruff Street, next to Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard).

Another option is to take the Hot Metal Bridge to Carson Street, then turn left. At Becks Run Road, turn right to go to the other side of the Liberty Tunnel.

Don't forget about public transit. Taking a ride on light rail via the Port Authority Red and Blue lines will save gas money and eliminate the headache of street traffic altogether.

"Taking the T avoids all that stuff. Take it all the way out to South Hills Village, don't have to worry about traffic," said Chris Poirier, of Canonsburg.

LATEST ANY TIME ONLINE AT WTAE.COM. EIGHT DAYS DOWN, EIGHT MORE TO GO. WE'RE OFFICIALLY AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE LIBERTY TUNNEL PROJECT, AND AS WE'VE BEEN REPORTING, THE POSTED DETOUR TAKES YOU UP MOUNT WASHINGTON, BUT WHEN OUR CAMERAS ROLLED, CAR AFTER CAR WENT RIGHT THROUGH THIS RED LIGHT AT MERRIMAC STREET AND VIRGINIA AVENUE. THAT BEGS THE QUESTION, IS THE DETOUR CAUSING EVEN MORE DANGER? REPORTER BOB MAYO TOOK THAT VIDEO TO OFFICIALS AND, BOB, WHAT ARE THEY SAYING TONIGHT? Reporter: WELL, CLEARLY SOME IMPATIENT DRIVERS ARE CAUSING A PROBLEM AND AS A RESULT OF OUR CALLING ATTENTION TO THIS, YOU HAVE TWO PITTSBURGH POLICE MOTORCYCLES HERE WATCHING AT THIS INTERSECTION. TAKE A LOOK AT THE VIDEO. THIS IS VIDEO YOU SAW LAST NIGHT, CAR AFTER CAR DANGEROUSLY RUNNING THE RED LIGHT HERE AT THE CORNER OF MERRIMAC STREET AND VIRGINIA AVENUE ALONG THE DETOUR, WORRYING NEIGHBORS. WHEN WE SHOWED IT TO MAYOR BILL PEDUTO, HE SAID WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE NEGLECTING TO STOP FOR A LIGHT, CLEARLY IT'S CAUSING PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES. EXTENDED COMMUTE TIMES, CLEARLY, MAKING SOME DRIVERS IMPATIENT. NOW, THE MAYOR SAYS WHILE HE RELISHES WHAT PENNDOT IS SAYING, PENNDOT CAN'T ENFORCE THE LAWS ITSELF, PENNDOT IS RESPONSIBLE TO REQUEST AND PAY FOR THE EXTRA POLICE PRESENCE DURING ITS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. WE'LL PROVIDE THE OFFICERS, THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PAY THEM TO BE ABLE TO BE THERE, BUT STARTING TONIGHT YOU'LL SEE THE DIFFERENCE. Reporter: AND YOU SEE THOSE OFFICERS HERE AND WE'VE SEEN THEM IN THE PAST HOUR, AT LEAST A HALF DOZEN TIMES TAKE OFF DOWN THE DETOUR ROUTE WITH THEIR LIGHTS FLASHING, FLAGGING DOWN MOTORISTS WHO WENT THROUGH THE

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